| dc.description.abstract | Globally, youth unemployment and crime are critical in ensuring peace, justice and strong institution as espoused by the 2015 sustainable development goals and Uganda‘s vision 2040. Despite the concerted efforts to provide peace and order by the government, violent crimes manifesting in form of murders, theft and kidnaps are still persistent. This leads to security concerns in the country. The study thus examined youth unemployment and violent crime in Kawempe Division- Kampala. Working with the human needs theory of John Burton, the study specifically explored the causes of youth unemployment; how violent crime manifests itself; and examining the relationship between youth unemployment and occurrence of violent crime. Literature was reviewed under themes that reflect specific research objectives and research variables to explore previous studies and information gaps. The data collection methods were both quantitative and qualitative approaches. A correlational design was adopted for the quantitative study with the support of a questionnaire as a tool to obtain data. A case study design with the support of interview guides, key informant interview guides, focus group discussions and observations were adopted for the qualitative study. The guides supported to not only provide detailed information, but also to hear the voices of the actual youths, community leaders, and police leaders on matters youth unemployment and prevalence of violent crimes in Kawempe Division. A total of 298 community members participated in the quantitative study, while 28 youths and police leaders participated in qualitative study. Through the application of statistical packages of social sciences; the study analysed the relationship between youth unemployment and occurrence of violent crime. The study findings showed a significant positive relationship between youth unemployment and violent crime in Kawempe (r = 0.722**, Sig. = .0 12). The study thus recommends that that government should empower the youth through skills training to enhance their potential and capacity for getting and/or attaining employment. The study also highlights the need for government to create job centers across the country to serve the interests of young people by offering students information on how to apply for jobs, vocational guidance and training to young workers to create their own jobs, so that they are not eventually involved/or recruited into violent crimes. | en_US |
